Bracing for the final stretch

As long as Donald Trump was at the receiving end of a vicious media campaign all passed off as fair play.

Now it is Hillary Clinton facing the music, whether it is right or wrong that is beside the point. What is right for one cannot be wrong for the other!

None of the camps, however, can claim to have played it fair. 

But in a degenerate world, everything appears to have become fair in everything – be it love, war, politics or whatever!

http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/31/politics/2016-election-hillary-clinton-donald-trump/index.html

Deepavali Without a Kabali Wrap Will Have Been Better

Good food, friendly warmth and great fun! Deepavali celebrations at a friend’s place today (Oct. 29) were all these and more. This is something we have been unfailingly doing the last several years.

The day could have seen a fun ending had it not been for Kabaali, Rajnikanth’s latest film, that was aired on local TV at 10pm as a Deepavali special. I am glad we only watched it from the comfort of our home, and not at a cinema!

Shot extensively in Malaysia, the film had the usual trappings of a Rajni staple – violence/gangsterism, verbal hype and a bit of romance strewn in through nostalgic recollections of the grey-haired protagonist.

The biggest weakness of the movie was its cast – most of them looking like real thugs passing off as actors! The exceptions were Radhika Apte and John Vijay. 

Rajni’s films generally have a good comedy track. There was none in this. I did not find music extraordinary as well.

Rajni perhaps thought he still had the ability to single-handedly carry a film through. Sorely mistaken.

It is a relief that I did not start the Deepavali day with Kabali.

Greetings for a Fun-Filled Deepavali!

Deepavali in Singapore has been in the air for the last more than a month, thanks to the lovely decor in Little India, trains and stations – as seen in the images here taken with my iPhone.

The D-Day has now arrived and we will soon head to a friend’s place to celebrate the Festival of Lights with them – something we have been doing for the last several years!

A wonderful Deepavali to all who celebrate the occasion to mark the triumph of good over evil!

G Joslin Vethakumar!

Vile Media, Secular Pretences in American-Style Democracy

Tripping Trump with Slanted Tales

All top American newspapers, from The New York Times to The Washington Post, are telling the world that Mr Donald Trump is sending a chill down the spine of Islamic children in their country. So much so that if he becomes the President of the U.S. they will live in perennial trepidation!

Their fear psychosis will prevent them from stepping out of their homes, or so go the stories that are emerging from the media stable as part of their political agenda!

Has Mr Trump talked about getting Muslims killed to invite this kind of paranoia, hyped up by vile media coverage?

How About Impact of 9/11 Disaster on Children?

When 9/11 spelt disaster for the U.S., did non-Muslim American children cower and hide themselves under their beds, refusing to come out of their homes? After all, it was Islamic terrorism of an unprecedented scale. Or will the media say even then only minority children were terrified of stepping out, with the threat of reprisals looming?

That kind of destruction, with more than 3000 lives lost to well-coordinated terror strikes on a single day, has never been seen either before or after.

Also, why is NYT concerned about only Islamic children? They ought to know that Mr Trump’s agenda includes packing off all illegal Mexican and other immigrants!

Terrorists Use Children as Shields

And aren’t these children frightened about terrorists from their religion stalking America, vowing to destroy the country? They are terrorists who use children as shields and sacrifice them in countries where Islamic violence is a daily occurrence?

Only in American-style democracy, you can have a media going wild with their secular pretences.

Photo credit: The New York Times

Trump Miracle Unlikely

In less than two weeks, Americans will get to know who their next President will be but it is unlikely they are nurturing any hope of a Trump miracle. With the media having gone bonkers with a relentless campaign to shame the Republican candidate, his seasoned rival, Hillary Clinton enjoys an unfair advantage.

The New York Times (and the rest of the pro-Hillary media battalion) will perhaps have to do a lot of soul searching on their role in dismantling the campaign of Donald Trump, unearthing decade-old salacious tales from nowhere. His verbal indiscretions become insignificant when weighed against the actions of an earlier White House incumbent.

Mr Trump may not give Americans any sense of pride as President, but giving his candidature such intense, even evil, scrutiny so late in the game gives rise to suspicions that Americans cannot be proud of their brand of democracy either.

Whatever the result, media ombudsmen must subject the role played by the American newspapers to a thorough analysis and determine to what extent they abused the freedom of expression they enjoy.

G Joslin Vethakumar

Govt Must Fix Failure to Build a Local Talent Pool

…Without Undermining Singaporeans for Perceived Skills Mismatch

It ill behoves Singapore to deflect any blame to its citizenry for the government’s failures.

It is too naïve to believe that a mere $500 Skills Future credit, or thereabouts, can help achieve what a spend of $100,000 on university education could not! If it is as simple as that then employers in Singapore can easily meet their requirements through some quick-fix training for their employees!

The Issue Goes Beyond Skills Gap…

There is no question that skills upgrading and lifelong learning are essential in a market that is constantly evolving. 

What is important is getting the foundations right through university degrees in preferably STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) or other professional courses! This can happen only with the support of the Government!

It is becoming a clever habit for the government to hold unemployed Singaporeans responsible for their situation, bringing up the issue of skills mismatch. 

On a daily basis, the last few days we have been reading about Ministers and even Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong say that thousands of jobs are available in the country, it is just that Singaporeans do not have the skills to land those jobs.

The Answer My Friend is Blowin’ in the Wind…

Yesterday, it was the turn of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to repeat the message and assert: “The solution lies in part with the workers themselves. They should equip themselves with the necessary skills to fill the jobs that are currently available and will be in demand in the coming years.”

Going by that logic…

• If hospitals dispense wrong medication, it is the fault of the patients to have taken them.
• When train and bus services get botched up, a typical escapist response can be: “who asked you to rely on public transport? Don’t you have the sense to make enough money to buy your own car?”
• If buildings collapse, workers will have to take the blame for any use of cheap construction material.

An Education System that Failed Singaporeans

It is time the Government drops the blame game and looks at its own failings first. Doesn’t the government think it is the failure of the country’s education system that has resulted in the skills gap?

Where should the fault lie for creating a system that only focuses on the cream who make it and ignores those who need help?

STEM Courses

Foreigners are not joining Singapore’s top universities to study history and geography. They take up key STEM courses at the expense of locals.

And whatever happened to the ideal of pursuing education that satisfies an individual’s soul. It is not always right for students to take up courses based on what interests them. 

They do have to pay attention to subjects that will guarantee them jobs. But they cannot do that alone, the Government has a responsibility to enable them to become STEM graduates. 

Keeping them away from those courses and then imagining a Skills Future credit will work wonders is quite unworldly behaviour.

The answer to workforce-related issues is perhaps “blowin’ in the wind”: improve the locals- vs-foreigners ratio and initiate a disincentive process aimed at companies more keen on letting some of their staff go than on training them. It is generally money that drives their decisions, not a skills gulf.

Most of them are not after loads of rocket scientists and top-of-the-range technologists, just routine personnel involving skills that can be acquired. If you give them an easier, cheaper alternative they will only go for it!

G Joslin Vethakumar

My other recent posts on the issue:

• Unemployment Goes Beyond Skills Gap
• Labour Market NOT Tight in Singapore
• Locals stand disadvantaged
• 3% Unemployment in Singapore
• Endless talk of labour crunch
• Job losses swell
• Sidestepping key issues
• Education to Employment, Singapore Tilting Towards Foreigners

Shock Action Against Feng Shows STTA Has Not Changed its Ways!

Is it too much for sports winners in Singapore to expect respect from administrators?

By dropping world number 6 Feng Tianwei from the national team, the Singapore Table Tennis Association’s (STTA) is living up to its tradition of foul decisions smacking of high-handedness, arrogance and thanklessness built by its former president, Ms Lee Bee Wah, Member of Parliament.

Singapore won its first-ever Olympic medal at the Beijing Games in 2008 through its women’s table tennis team spearheaded by Feng. Singapore-style actions awaited the team manager and the head coach who were both almost immediately axed despite the phenomenal, unprecedented success they brought to the country.

In a post here then I had blogged: “…sports administrators everywhere are a bunch of arrogant rascals who can hardly stomach the successes of players and their coaches/managers. They go to any length to hog the limelight, pushing the real heroes to the background.”

Lee Bee Wah was apparently miffed because Singapore’s male tennis player Gao Ning was left to play a third-round match without the coach by his side in Beijing. He was whacked out of the tournament by a player ranked lower than him.

This time, though, Feng lost in the quarter finals in Rio and returned empty-handed having also failed to help Team Singapore win a medal. But she is still ranked sixth in the world! The STTA may have had issues with Feng’s attitude, whatever that is. This is not how you deal with it.

Unceremonious dumping of a player of her standing only shows the contempt sports administrators in Singapore have for winners.

G Joslin Vethakumar

Unemployment Goes Beyond Skills Gap

Pep Talk Alone Not Enough to Lift the Mood of the Young Amid a Slumping Economy

The Singapore economy appears to be taking hard knocks, with more unemployment looming.

When troubled times lurk, pep talk from leaders takes centre-stage. Last week one minister after another delivered reassurances to Singaporeans that jobs were available aplenty and more were being created steadily.

Today’s reports in the media had Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also bring up the issue, pointing out that “Singapore is at a new phase in its development – one in which the jobs available and the skills in demand are different from before and are changing rapidly.”

Precise Assessment

That is a precise assessment but “technology transforming industries and old jobs fading away” do not signal any sudden and dramatic shift. Just like driverless cabs will not go mainstream for the next two decades at a minimum!

The transformation has been happening the past few decades, perhaps why Singapore had developed and executed its plan of becoming an Intelligent Island by year 2000. It has followed it up with a blueprint for making Singapore the world’s first Smart Nation by 2025.

Singapore’s Critical Failure

Not many governments can come up with that level of forward planning. Where I think the government failed was in building a local talent pool that can meet the bulk of the human resource requirements in Singapore without having to import foreign mediocrity.

What is the use of being home to top-notch universities when locals find it hard to be absorbed by them, particularly in new-generation courses critical for industry? This is a critical failure the Government may have to own up.

PM Lee with students at the Singapore Institute of Technology – Picture Credit: PM Lee’s FB page

Keeping locals away from the institutions while exhorting them to upgrade their skills and be technically ready for the future is missing the crux of the issue, either deliberately or as a weak pretext. Degrees in the right discipline come first, and skills upgrading comes next!

In addition, let us not forget that jobs must be the right of every individual in the country, irrespective of what type of degrees or qualifications he or she holds. It is, nonetheless, the responsibility of everyone in the country to make the government’s task easier by pursuing education that provides them with an easy path to jobs on graduation. The government will have to facilitate that.

Locals Short-changed – From Education to Jobs

Campus diversity can come in when the interests of its citizens have been fulfilled. Next, all talk about technology redefining business can be dismissed as hollow if firms remain stuck in old-fashioned ways without the ability to come up with innovative ways to meet any perceived personnel crunch.

Most of the jobs that are being talked about do not involve rocket science. They involve skills that can be acquired provided businesses are willing to train the recruits. As a matter of fact, even most of the foreign resources they import acquire the skills needed only on the job. Clearly, therefore, locals are being short-changed across the board – from education to jobs.

There are still multinational companies in Singapore that put up Mandarin as a requirement for entry-level jobs. There are still many who nurture age prejudices. When retrenchments happen, it will be too naïve to believe it is a skills gap that is behind unemployment in the country.

The Jobs Bank Excuse

Interestingly, the ministers relied on the Jobs Bank database to highlight the availability of more than 70,000 jobs. It is not difficult to discover that the truth lies hidden behind that lofty figure.

Not all jobs advertised can be expected to be immediately available. Advertise, gather CVs and take no action – this is not an uncommon ploy.

Moreover, Jobs Bank is an excuse for them to bring in those they fancy from overseas. Is the government monitoring how they fill up the advertised positions? It is not practical for the Government to do this.

But it is easy for employers to claim they did not attract local applicants with the skill set they need. Precisely why the Government must apply greater rigour around issuing employment passes – even if they are for dependent spouses of those employed here!

Jobs creation will find resonance with the people if that is not seen as a way to import the so-called talent from across the shores.

The Emergence of Trump in the U.S.

It is cross-border lenience that has led to the emergence of Mr Donald Trump as a Presidential nominee in the U.S. causing divisions even in the country built by immigrants. Even there, foreigners do not account for 50% of the population as they do in Singapore.

All prejudices will disappear if more restrictions are put in place in terms of getting access to foreign personnel. I have been hearing from foreigners working in Singapore about how difficult it is to gain Permanent Residence in the country.

I don’t consider this as any tightening of immigration. Greater controls are needed in the dispensing of employment passes and student passes to foreigners.

Singapore must be ready to let go of companies that show a disinclination to hire and train locals. An overcrowded Singapore packed with foreigners to the brim and a deteriorating quality of life are hardly desirable!

PS: This is a topic I have been consistently writing about because of its import. It includes a post this May

G Joslin Vethakumar

Tata Sons Chairman sacking, an Eye-Opener for Corporate Giants

Giving Leaders a Long Rope Neither Uncommon nor Necessary – Cisco is one Example

The sacking of Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry, an Irish citizen of Indian origin, appears to be a well thought-out decision going by various media reports bringing up some key issues. They include:

• Suboptimal performance in the face of business pressures
• No meaningful blueprint for the future, with some of the group’s businesses mired in deep debt
• Hiring of poor-quality senior leaders
• High-handedness in decisions while keeping the Board in the dark
• Questionable mergers and acquisitions, with the sale of a key part of its steel business in the U.K., in particular, being an issue of concern
• Weak handling of the dispute with DoCoMo

Most of them are issues top companies worldwide face with hardly any counter-actions.

But, whatever the reasons behind Mr Mistry’s ouster, it does look like the Tata Sons Board has got it right with its due diligence measures having included taking the advice of top lawyers in the country.

This can possibly be an eye-opener for corporate giants, both within and outside India, where poor management is seen manifesting itself in multiple ways.

The Cisco Example

At Cisco Systems, for instance, it was transparent through several of its acquisitions that guzzled its fat cash reserves with zero returns, a failure to effectively deal with competitive threats and slow growth. But, far from being taken to task, the leadership continued to call the shots.

Former Chairman and CEO John Chambers was given a long rope though the market was looking for his exit. He did step down but had his way in the choice of his successor.

While the company’s stock price has seen some upward movement this year, it is still languishing at around $30. Weak returns for investors is another sign of poor management.

Losing Ground to Huawei

Recently, we had Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins and market watchers gloat over the company’s revenues crossing the $1-billion mark in India.

But then one of its biggest global competitors, Huawei, saw better revenues from the country even if its portfolio went beyond networking gear. In fact, Huawei expects its India sales to exceed $2.6 billion by the end of next year.

Cisco is not alone when it comes to corporate leaders experiencing more clout, rewards and longer stays at the helm than they deserve. All of them enjoy fat pay cheques even as they devise ways to deny even thin bonuses to staff who make significant contributions to the corporate bottomline.

International Talent Hunt

Going back to the Tata shocker, Mr Mistry being brought down from the pedestal may not have much material impact on him as his family remains the largest shareholder in the group with an 18% stake. Plus, he is bound to have been showered with an impressive exit package.

Mr Ratan Tata will be the interim chairman until a successor is found, expected to happen within four months. Mr Tata had held the reins for more than two decades, a period that saw the group grow rapidly with deep inroads into the U.K. through such acquisitions as Jaguar and expansion of its steel business.

Mr Mistry was made group chairman in 2012 and developments over the next four years show it was not a decision made in the best interests of the company. His appointment was said to have followed an international talent hunt. On hindsight, the selection board will now realize his choice was NOT based on individual merit.

But that is the business reality – the choice of a corporate leader is seldom based on merit and performance!

G Joslin Vethakumar

16 Singapore MPs Don Saris for Deepavali Special

Picture Credit: The Straits Times

The photoshoot was for a Tamil newspaper in Singapore, reproduced in The Straits Times today.

Moreover, Serangoon Road in Singapore is a sight to behold for the young and the old with lovely peacock-themed decor and illuminations that sparkle.

Singapore’s Land Transport Authority even gave some of its trains and a station lovely Deepavali décor.

In Multicultural Singapore, the government has always been making conscious, sincere attempts at fostering national integration and harmony, with participation from a broad spectrum of people – from school students to ministers.

…and in Sydney, the Opera House has been lit up for the third year to celebrate the Festival of Lights.

G Joslin Vethakumar

US Debate: Chris Wallace, a Refreshing Change from Earlier Moderators

Elegant Hillary was at her best today, Trump presented a confident face, too

The highlight of today’s third and final U.S. Presidential debate was moderator Chris Wallace (Fox News Sunday host) who appeared to show a greater sense of balance and equanimity than those in the earlier two deliberations – NBC’s Lester Holt, CNN’s Anderson Cooper and ABC’s Martha Raddatz.

Chris raised the right questions and interjections, giving both the Presidential nominees equal traction. Well done, Chris.

I started watching the debate at home on TV but soon got on the road to head to the office. I tried CNN, BBC, Channel News Asia and Times Now for live video coverage on my phone. It was eventually India’s NDTV that made it possible and easy for me. Thank you, NDTV

No Arnab-Like Screaming

The earlier moderators were more like Arnab Goswami of Indian TV news channel Times Now with all of his prejudices but without the screaming. Arnab always forgets he is just a moderator and that viewers are only interested in the views of his guests, and not his own predispositions and bunkum.

I think Hillary Clinton was at her best today, better than how she fared in the first two Presidential debates. She was confident, articulate and precise. She has always been a powerful speaker but the first two debates showed her as unconvincing, missing her usual felicity.

Flawed Arguments

Her arguments, nonetheless, were not without flaws. “Undocumented immigrants paying taxes that are more than that of a billionaire,” she thundered.

But, collective taxes vs that from an individual is not an apt comparison.

Next, that bit of data she brought up shows the current administration took no steps to fix the issue. Why keep them undocumented when the taxes they pay are documented?

Trump also cornered Hillary when she was trying to be too populist by saying that she would not go overboard with deportations and closing borders. Her reasoning was that “there are 11 million undocumented immigrants who had four million children who are U.S. citizens.” She was emphatic she would not like to break up families.

Trump retorted by pointing out that the Obama administration still deported millions to which she had no response.

Hillary also tried to put Trump on the spot by bringing up his business deals – “he outsourced jobs to Mexico and used Chinese steel for his Towers, ignoring American steel makers.”

I cannot help thinking that Trump may have reason to believe the elections are rigged, with the mainstream media throwing its might fully behind Hillary and unearthing decade-old tales that may or may not be true!

G Joslin Vethakumar